No title c. 1982 - 1985

Al Taylor made this painting with enamel and graphite on a magazine page. I love how the composition emerges from these looping gestures and lines. It feels as if it was born from a place of improvisation. The earthy browns, blacks, whites and pinks create a sense of depth, with layers that both reveal and conceal. Taylor’s making process might have been like a dance, each stroke answering the one before, a constant process of trial, error, and adjustment. You can see it in the texture of the paint, thick in some spots, thin in others. A particularly confident black line slices across the surface, disrupting the harmony and adding a jolt of energy. Taylor's method reminds me of other painters who find freedom in constraints, embracing the unpredictable nature of materials to discover new possibilities. Artists are always building on each other’s work, in dialogue across time. The conversation keeps going.